Broadcaster Bill Kurtis to Speak at KU

LAWRENCE--Television broadcaster and former CBS anchorman Bill Kurtis
will speak at the annual meeting of the University of Kansas chapter of
the scientific society Sigma Xi on April 5.

Kurtis's presentation, on the use of electronic technology in education,
is scheduled for 8 p.m. in the Big 12 Room of KU's Memorial Union.

Kurtis is the host of such programs as "The New Explorers," "American
Justice," and "Investigative Reports" on the A&E network. He is a
native of Independence, Kansas, and in 1998 was given the William Allen
White Medal from the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass
Communications. He is currently the head of Kurtis Productions,
headquartered in Chicago.

The "The New Explorers" program profiles members of the scientific
community.

"Recent developments in technology--computers, CD-ROMs, the Internet,
satellite communication--have enabled science educators to bring the
true excitement of scientific research and communication to students
like never before," said Kurtis. "Through these means we can truly
inspire the next generation of 'new explorers' and pave the way for the
true scientific discovery of the next century."

Sigma Xi is a national scientific society with approximately 115,000
members. The University of Kansas chapter was founded in 1889 and is
the fourth oldest chapter in the U.S.